I'll Find A Way
by gabrielle015
Summary: Everyone he ever knew and loved thinks he's dead. Being an agent was never an easy feat, but being separated from his friends and the love of his life has taken a toll on him. Three long years after his 'death' Inuyasha is completing several missions in hopes to defeat Naraku and go home. Would Kagome still be waiting for him, or had she found someone else?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

Ch. 1

"Has she been detained?"

"Yea. She's being held in the room as we speak. Is there anything else you want me to ask her?"

"No, you have done as you have been told. You may make your way back to Sapporo." A click on the other line signaled the end of the two men's conversation.

"Bastard still hasn't learned how to say good bye" Inuyasha spoke to himself. Sliding the phone back into his pants, he turned and made his way towards a small interrogation room. The room was kept unclean on purpose, in hopes that whoever was being questioned would tire of the environment and confess. And currently it was holding a shaky and frazzled looking woman.

"There is nothing else that I have to ask you. You will be transported to Okinawa to the Confines following this interrogation" he spoke professionally. Inuyasha Taisho normally did not take pity on criminals. No one was above the law, not even himself. When he had first started working the interrogation hall, he wasn't sure how to handle the deranged and psychotic demons that he came across. He had learned that there were always some that thought themselves too good for rules, and would break them. Back then, Inuyasha never minded trouble makers, but when the entire demon race is being held accountable for one demon's crime, said trouble makers cannot go unpunished.

"Please, I am begging you!" the woman sobbed out. "Please, don't send me down there! I don't want to be left alone, all in the dark."

Inuyasha studied the woman before him. When he had first come across her, he was surprised by how much power this human woman held. Detaining her was extremely tiresome, but he had managed all by himself, just as Sesshomaru told him he would. Two days ago, he was emailed a file briefing him on what to expect. Tsubaki was her name, and apparently she had a knack for kidnapping young girls and using her dark magic to steal their souls, thus securing her youth and beauty. The human authorities found three girl's bodies hollow and cold, thus ruling the bizarre sight as a demonic crime. He had found her in a dark forest on the outskirts of Seoul, and was fast enough to save an eleven year old girl from death. Tsubaki had killed three girls beforehand, and here she was, begging him for mercy.

"Keh, I wouldn't think a woman like you would have a problem with darkness. How can you even call yourself a priestess when you have done the things that you have done?" Upon his words, the woman's sobbing stopped, and she stared at him with dark, menacing eyes.

"I do not have a problem with darkness. That is indeed what I am molded in, but to be shut up in a foul prison for indefinite time does not sound appealing. Do not pass judgment upon me for my actions, especially when you don't understand the reasoning behind it, _Inuyasha_." It was clear that she was trying to remain strong even when she was seconds away from being put away for kamis know how long.

"Then I'll humor you, _Tsubaki_. What is the justification behind your crimes?" Tsubaki's lips did a slight turn upward at the corner at his question. She leaned forward in her chair, thus putting her face in more of the harsh light above the silver table. When she did this, Inuyasha could tell how fast she was withering. Just yesterday, her face had been smooth, almost flawless. But now, there were dark circles under her eyes, her cheeks were caving in, almost as if she had lost weight in a few hours. And there were lines around her mouth that hadn't been there before. Just how old was she anyway?

"My justification may not sound just to you. But who cares if a few people die. The world will not stop turning or cease to exist over the deaths of three pathetic girls. I've been around for quite a long time, Inuyasha; longer than you would think. I've seen wars, transformations, and I've survived all the way to this point. Thus, letting you know that I've dabbled in the art of soul stealing for just as long. No one misses the girls I've killed before; no one even knows their names now. I've been surviving for just…that…long. I do not see how my matters concern you whatsoever. I am after all, just a human. You demons should worry about your own kind."

Inuyasha absorbed her dark words. However old this foul priestess was, she had apparently been using girl's souls to survive all her days.

"T-corporation was requested to have you taken care of. Not that we care about the petty actions of humans, but when they begin to affect our kind, that's when we get pissed off. Your explanations behind your actions are just as foul as you are, and I'm glad that you're being put away. Human prisons won't do anything for you, but believe me, the Confines definitely will. I'm not sure how long you'll last, but from the looks of it, somebody will be cleaning up a pile of bones in no time. Your long days are over now."

"No!" she shrieked. Tears began to fall down her face, and Inuyasha immediately grew more uncomfortable than he already was. Tears, especially from women, confused him, and he was never quite sure how to deal with them. Not that he needed to deal with her anymore anyway. He stood up from the hard chair and exited the dirty room. He turned to the tall guard standing outside the door in the dark hallway.

"Jinenji, prepare her for her transportation. I'm done here."

"Yes, Mr. Taisho" the guard responded immediately, and headed into the room. Inuyasha's lips turned farther downward upon hearing 'Mr. Taisho.' That was his father's title, and that is his half brother's title, not his. He preferred plain, old Inuyasha. He proceeded to walk down the cold, dimly lit hallway to the exit. After this last mission here in Seoul, Sesshomaru had informed him that he was to return to Sapporo, Japan. Not that he minded, that meant that he was another step closer to home, and another step closer to _her_. Yet, he was still going to be so far away.

That realization caused him to sigh deeply. When he reached the exit, he gave a curt nod to the two guards standing by the door, and made his way out of the gate. The warehouse he was leaving wasn't really a warehouse at all; it was another secret T-corp base. There were several of these 'warehouses' across the world, with several demons and humans working at each. The human employees were more in charge of locating criminals, handling files; that kind of stuff, but the demons were in charge of detaining those criminals. As Inuyasha got into the simple black car Sesshomaru provided for him, he ignited the engine and pulled off onto the lonely dirt road.

Taisho Corporation, T-corp, was the facility in charge of handling criminal demons, making sure that they were 'facilitated' before their uncouth actions harmed the human society. The bridge between demons and humans had taken centuries to close, but slowly and surely, segregation turned to integration. Human workplaces became human _and_ demon work places, and vice versa. There were many demons before him who had fought for the equalization, and the pathway to peace was very difficult, but it all worked out in the end. Inu no Taisho, his father, was a spearhead in demon equalization as well, and the founder of T-corp. He pressed the issue of peace all the way up until his untimely murder from an ancient and evil demon, Ryūkotsusei. Inuyasha's half brother, Sesshomaru had to take over the corporation at the age of seventeen, and he was doing a mighty fine job of running it too.

Not long after his father's death, Inuyasha's mother Izayoi was struck with cancer, and she didn't make it. Absence of parents meant that he had to move in with Sesshomaru, which was unbearable. The elder Taisho brother would look at him as if he were diseased, and would ridicule his half demon blood. But as he had grown older, Sesshomaru began to realize that he could use Inuyasha in dangerous missions. He may be a half demon, but he was his father's son, so he had strong blood flowing in his veins. At first, Inuyasha was wary of his brother suddenly requesting his help, plus he was only thirteen when he started. But after his first couple of missions, he realized that he was truly a fighter; it _was_ in his blood.

Inuyasha desperately tried to pay attention to the road instead of his thoughts. Why was he reflecting on the past all of a sudden? Reflection never helped him in his endeavors anyway. He found himself at his small, junky apartment sooner than he thought he would. Not that he cared so much for luxury and the high life, but Sesshomaru could at least locate him in a better area. When he had complained that he was tired of living in broken down apartments in a rundown community, Sesshomaru had quickly reminded him of his current predicament. Of course he could afford to be in a much better place, but Inuyasha was an agent under possible watch of a formidable enemy; so he needed to lay low.

And if low meant a roach infested apartment, then so be it.

Inuyasha made his way up to his floor, not missing the sounds of arguing couples and crying babies resonate throughout the building. Reaching his place, he walked in and surveyed the dusty, dank place he had to call a home for the past two months.

"I definitely won't be missing this" he stated. He made his way back to the small bathroom, and began to strip for a shower. When he pulled his shirt over his head, he looked at his reflection in the blurry mirror in front of him.

Ever since his 'accident' he had to undergo much change. And the change started with him having to leave Tokyo, then his appearance, and then his lifestyle. His long curtain of silvery white hair had been cut to a short hair cut. He wasn't going to lie, he was nervous when he was told that for identity purposes, his mane would have to be cut short, and any time he went outside his residence, he needed to wear some kind of hat to cover his ears. Not to forget shades to conceal his golden eyes, but the haircut actually looked good on him. It brought out the strong curve of his jaw, and he actually felt lighter. He often wondered what _she_ would think of it when she saw him again.

Her.

He missed her so much it hurt. There was a pain in his chest caused by longing to be with her again that had been present since his 'accident' three years ago. He missed her radiant aura, her long black hair, her smile, her deep blue eyes, her scent; everything about her. He yearned to be in her presence once again, no matter how long it would take. He missed his friends, his high school, Tokyo as a whole. But she was the number one thing that kept him awake at night; the memories of her never let him sleep all too well.

Inuyasha quickly showered and threw on a pair of black sweat pants, and pulled out the laptop he kept with him throughout all his missions. He pulled up the file of Tsubaki and edited it as complete. Tomorrow morning, he would pack what little belongings he had, and make his way to the airport to return to Sapporo. Although it was in Japan, it was still too many miles away from home, and miles away from her. He quickly reviewed the upcoming missions he had to complete upon his arrival in Sapporo and mentally sighed. His work was never done, and at this rate, he never thought it would ever be done. Taisho Corporation was facing its most dangerous and vile demon yet. The lowly hanyou spider that was responsible for his 'accident', his friend's sadness, and most importantly, her heartbreak.

Naraku Onigumo.

It was he who had thought up the plan to kill Inuyasha, and he almost succeeded too.

-Flashback-

"Kouga, watch out!"

Kouga whipped around to see what he was supposed to be watching for, and immediately ducked. Another one of the brothers were on his tail now, and he was armed with a heavy looking blade. He ran faster, jumping across the close buildings in the dead of night, hoping he would survive this. This had been the most difficult mission he had been on yet, but luckily he was not alone.

"Let's tag team!" Kouga yelled confidently.

Inuyasha was at his side in seconds, and both agents immediately stopped and stood back to back, preparing themselves for this showdown. They had four down, and three more to go. There were other agents around the area, but they were looking for the leader of this group.

"Inuyasha" one of the more questionable of two men purred "That is your name isn't it? It just rolls right off the tongue. I would have liked to spend more time with you, but it seems like our time" he pulled out a jagged blade "has to be cut short."

"Shut up!" This 'man' was making Inuyasha uncomfortable. Out of all the others, this one was clearly the openly confused one.

"Enough, Jakotsu" the other enemy commanded. "Brother would not want us wasting any more time. Let's finish these two off."

"Yes, Renkotsu." Upon that answer, Inuyasha began to duck and dodge the surprisingly fast Jakotsu, while Kouga squared off with the one called Renkotsu. They had been defeating this group called the Band of Seven for weeks now. The first mission had been easy, but each one had become more and more difficult the farther they advanced. Inuyasha and Kouga had been deployed to Osaka to detain this rogue group of humans. T-corp had been requested to take care of this problem, and Sesshomaru much obliged when it was discovered that the Band of Seven were working for Naraku.

Inuyasha turned around when he heard Renkotsu cry out in pain. Kouga had a clawed hand to his throat, ready to cut, but was hesitating.

"Kouga!" Inuyasha shouted while still fighting off Jakotsu. "Just knock him out! You know the orders!"

"He is responsible for the death of innocent people. I don't see why the hell Sesshomaru wants us to spare these assholes!" Kouga yelled back.

"I don't know either!" Inuyasha felt a hot pain in his arm and noticed that Jakotsu's blade had sliced a thin cut down his bicep. He wasn't deterred by the minor injury; it would heal in no time. He decided to give Jakotsu his full attention once again, and end this fight. There was one more mercenary that needed to be taken care of, and Inuyasha knew he was bound to be the toughest one yet.

With his demon speed, he whirred around Jakotsu and wrapped his bloody arm around the man's throat. The losing human knew he was beat, but decided to fight with words until the very end. Between short breaths, he spoke.

"Normally, I would be e-excited by this. Just k-know, Inuyasha. This w-will not end well for you."

Inuyasha was disgusted and confused by the captive's words, and used his other arm to deliver a blow to the temple, knocking him out cold. He laid the man on his stomach and reached in his pocket to pull out a pair of sturdy hand cuffs. Looking up and seeing that Kouga had done the same with his captive, he nodded and spoke.

"Call these in, Kouga. I'm going to find their leader and end this for good." He turned around and jumped down from the building before Kouga could protest. Kouga reached in his pocket and pulled out the small phone to alert the other agents to come pick the two unconscious bodies up and place them in the bared vehicle. He decided it would be best to remain with the criminals just in case one of them woke back up, but he was also worried about Inuyasha. As soon as somebody got up here to get these bodies, he would head off into the direction Inuyasha went.

Inuyasha knew exactly where to find the leader of the Band of Seven. A few days ago, he had fought with another member of the group named Suikotsu. According to the file, the man was a schizophrenic or something of the sort, and had an insatiable taste for killing. Inuyasha had fought a long battle with him while Kouga was off taking care of another group member. He wasn't proud of his actions, but he had beaten the man so badly that he was coughing up blood. He tied the man's hands behind his back and continued to punch him in the face until he gave up their leader's location.

'He should be in this last building here' Inuyasha thought, and sped up running to make it there. He was curious to know what this leader looked like, and why he was working for Naraku. He stopped once he reached the small, abandoned building that was easily concealed by the much taller ones around it, and said a quick prayer before heading inside. He would go in, detain the man, and this mission would be over. He and Kouga would be on a plane headed back to Tokyo by the morning.

But things are rarely that easy.

He walked in the building slowly, and let the heavy metal door close behind him. He was immediately greeted with darkness, and he began to sniff the air, looking for the scent of a human male. He walked forward, still searching. He was glad that seeing in the dark had never been a problem for him, or he would be at a loss now. There were holes in the roof of the building, letting moonlight create small patches of light in the room.

"Sniffing for me?"

Inuyasha quickly turned around to see a young man standing in one of those patches, and was surprised. This was not what he expected the leader of the Band of Seven to look like.

"Shocked, I see. What did you expect to find?" the man asked.

He was tall, and had very long black hair that was braided and a strange purple marking in the middle of his forehead. Inuyasha had expected to find something completely different than the handsome man before him.

"Why are you working for Naraku?" Inuyasha asked loudly. This guy didn't look so tough, and if he was an easy enemy, he wanted to handle this as quickly as possible.

"Didn't even ask my name. Tasteless for a demon."

"Working for a demon! Tasteless for a human!" Inuyasha bit back. He had no patience for this. The leader only sighed and laughed.

"Naraku is a man with a plan. He's innovative, and he offered me and my brother's salvation from regular street crimes."

"Keh, salvation? Naraku hasn't saved you from a damn thing. You and your brothers would have been safer on the streets." Inuyasha cracked his knuckles preparing himself for what he thought would be an easy fight. He wasn't interested in this man's speech about wanting to be a part of a 'greater cause'; the poor guy obviously didn't know that Naraku was probably going to betray him in the end.

"Quite the aggressor, aren't you? Naraku said you would be. The name is Bankotsu" he stated casually. He had an air of assurance around him, almost as if he were certain he would be the one walking out of this building alive; it only served to annoy Inuyasha further. Plus, he sure as hell hadn't asked for his name.

"Only with assholes like you, and I didn't ask!"

At that, Bankotsu set his stance preparing for an attack, and spoke once more.

"I know you didn't. I just thought you might have liked to know the name of the man that would take your life" and then he ran forward. Inuyasha easily dodged whatever attack Bankotsu had planned, but was surprised when he received a sharp blow to the back, causing him to stumble forward. When he lost his balance, Bankotsu whipped back in front of him and brought up his leg to knee Inuyasha hard in the gut. Inuyasha, not accustomed to being attacked so easily, quickly moved and began throwing punches. Both soon realized that it was an even match, but Bankotsu came prepared for that. The moonlight accentuated the determined looks on both man's faces as they continued to kick and punch; the sound of grunts and fists colliding with skin disturbing the silence in the building.

Inuyasha knew that this man was a formidable enemy when he threw the first few punches; now would be a good time to use his claws. He wasn't supposed to kill Bankotsu, but he was also told to detain him and his 'brothers' by any means necessary, whatever that may be. Inuyasha curled a hand back and quickly brought it down, cutting the front of the other's chest. Bankotsu stumbled back and quickly observed his injury before charging again.

'He's a persistent son of a bitch, huh? No matter.' Inuyasha reeled his hand back again only to bring in down and create five more slices across Bankotsu's chest. He was honestly holding back; he could have carved in his chest by now, but he was still trying to let death be the last resort in this encounter.

"When I'm done with you, I'm going to join the rest of my brothers and get rid of the rest of those lousy T-corp agents; don't expect to be a hero tonight, Inuyasha!" Bankotsu yelled, running forward to kick Inuyasha in the leg. The kick was hard, and made Inuyasha stumble only a little.

"Oh, haven't you heard? The rest of your group has already been detained. You're the last man standing" Inuyasha mocked. How long had Bankotsu been in this building to not know that the rest of his group had been taken down? Said man suddenly stepped back, letting an angry scowl replace the smug look he had been wearing for so long.

"What have you done to them!?" he yelled. Inuyasha noticed the sudden change in the man's mood, and deduced that his group members may have meant more to him than he thought.

"Keh, if they meant so much to you, you wouldn't have let them go out on their own. But don't worry, I didn't kill them. But they have been taken to a place where they won't be seeing the light of day again. I'm trying to make it so that you can join then, but you just won't give up!"

"Damn you! You sent them to the Confines!" Inuyasha prepared himself from another attack from the angry man, but was confused when he pulled a lighter and a long match out of his pocket.

"There's no way in any hell that I'll be going to that hole you demons call a facility!" Bankotsu proceeded to light the match and scurried over to a dark corner and lit something that Inuyasha couldn't see the contents of. A bright fire set ablaze in the corner, and Inuyasha's nose was immediately hit with a foul fume.

"You like that?" Bankotsu called out from the fire lit corner. "My brother Mukotsu made this himself. He's always been some kind of chemical genius. This incense was made to knock out demons, and I was assured that I would not be affected." Inuyasha tried with all his might to not sink to the floor in reaction to the assault his senses were undergoing. Whatever this fume was, it was going to cause him to pass out. He needed to get out of there, fast.

Sirens were heard outside of the building, and a voice over a megaphone was heard as well. Inuyasha recognized it as one of his fellow agents and began to get fearful. He didn't want anyone else coming in here and falling weak to this gas in the air.

On the outside, Kouga had alerted everyone that he smelled a strong fume coming from the building, and commanded everyone to stay where they were. One of the agents, Jūrōmaru, grabbed the megaphone and began to make demands in a smooth voice.

"Leader of the Band of Seven, you are surround by Taisho Corporations finest agents. To take action at this point would be futile. Whatever you have conjured in that building, dispose of it now and step out with your hands behind your head. Trust me; you do not want us to take action."

On the inside, Bankotsu was pleased that Inuyasha had collapsed to the floor and was coughing; his lungs begging him for clean air. But now he was surrounded by T-corp agents with no way out. None of his brothers were left, and nothing that he had planned to happen was happening.

"Do what they say Bankotsu!" Inuyasha yelled to the best of his ability, choking on the poisonous air. Bankotsu lowered his head in defeat; he could at least do what Naraku instructed him to do. A dark chuckle began to escape his lips, causing Inuyasha to stare at him through half lidded eyes. 'What the hell is he laughing at?' he thought.

"I'm not planning on falling into the hands of the enemy today." Upon those words, Bankotsu grabbed a large bag of incense out of the dark corner and opened it. He began to run around, spilling the contents everywhere; and Inuyasha was praying that he wasn't about to do what he thought he was about to do.

Bankotsu pulled out the lighter, and lit a small trail of the incense, causing it to light the other trails, and before he knew it, the floor of the building was covered in fire. Broken pieces of wood became part of the blaze, and Bankotsu began to talk.

"I won't be making it out of this one, Inuyasha. But neither will you." The area where the first trail he lit exploded, causing huge walls of flames to rise. Walls of fire began to erupt around the entire room, trapping Inuyasha.

'Mukotsu, you are a chemical genius indeed.' With that last thought, Bankotsu reached in his other pocket for the small gun he always carried with him. He had shot many people with this gun back in his street mobbing days. If the air wasn't so thick with fumes, he would have laughed at the irony of this situation. He placed the cold barrel to his head and fired.

"What the fuck!" Kouga yelled. The scent he smelled must have been some type of gas, and now the building was on fire.

"Inuyasha!" he yelled. He started to run towards the building, but someone caught his arm and held him back.

"Jūrōmaru, let go of me! I have to save him!" Kouga heard a small gunshot follow his words, and he began to panic even more. He pushed his fellow agent away and ran to the door.

It was shut tight.

"Damn! Inuyasha, can you hear me? Inuyasha!" What the hell happened in there?

"Kouga!"

His name was not being called in the direction he wanted to hear it from, and he turned around to find another fellow agent looking frantic.

"We need to get out of here! The gas in the air" he coughed "we're going to end up passing out!"

"We can't leave Inuyasha behind!"

"There's no way to get in the building!"

Kouga stepped away from the building and placed his hands to his head. 'Think, Kouga, think!'

"Jūrōmaru is ordering that we fall back, Kouga."

"FALL BACK THEN!" Kouga yelled. "I'll do this on my own!" He ran back to the metal door and began to punch and kick as hard as he could, not caring that his own fists were bruising; they'd heal. The other T-corp agents were secured back in the vehicles, all except for Jūrōmaru and Kouga.

"We can't get in there, Kouga. Come on before the entire building explodes and you're killed as well."

"Don't say that!" Kouga yelled again. He continued to helplessly punch and claw at the door; his claws against the metal forming the most unpleasant sound.

"I have to save him!" he yelled once more, his voice cracking in the process. He would never show, nor admit it, but a tiny tear slipped his eyes. Inuyasha couldn't be dead, could he? Not his long time partner and friend; this couldn't be happening. Jūrōmaru came up behind Kouga and grabbed him, pinning his hands behind his back. From one of the vehicles Kagerōmaru, Jūrōmaru's older brother took that action as a cue for handcuffs and bindings.

"Let go of me!" Kouga demanded "Don't put those on me! We have to help him!" Both T-corp agents ignored his pleading and dragged him back to their vehicle, shoving him in the back seat. All the cars quickly drove away from the hazardous building, and Jūrōmaru drove, calling in a man down.

Kouga sat up from behind violently shoved in the backseat and turned around to look at the back of the car. They were a safe distance from the building before it completely exploded, sending bricks and fire everywhere. There was a huge portrait of red bricks, orange fire, smoke, and stars in the pitch black night sky. It was almost beautiful.

"Inuyasha" Kouga breathed "I'm sorry."

-End of Flashback-

Inuyasha laid in the darkness of his room on the small mattress on the floor. He obviously wasn't going to get much sleep at the moment, so he stood up and made his way to the open window in the room. There were no stars out tonight, but the moon was shining as brightly as ever. The pale light bathed his bare, muscular chest; his golden eyes joining the glow.

The last thing Inuyasha remembered was passing out in the midst of walls of fire, positive that he would die. The next thing he remembered was waking up in the woods, covered in blood. He didn't know whether it was his own, Bankotsu's, or someone else's. The clothes he was wearing had been damaged from the fire, and were hanging loosely off his body. He ran through the woods, until he made it to an outskirt of Osaka. He made sure to lay low, listening for anyone that might be around. There was no telling what time it was, but the sky was still painted black.

Inuyasha had always made a habit of keeping quarters in his pants pocket. Whether it be work pants, jeans, sweat pants; he made sure he always kept change with him. He reached his hand down to check and was relieved when he saw that the change was still there. He found the nearest phone booth and began to make a call to the one person he knew could help him for sure.

Sesshomaru.

He had been instructed to stay put and to stay quiet. Sesshomaru informed him that he and Kikyo, his assistant, would be there by tomorrow. Osaka is a ways from Tokyo, but when you fly, it would only take some hours. Under no circumstances was he to call anyone else, or reveal his identity to anyone. Before Inuyasha could even ask why, Sesshomaru had ended the call. They found him somehow the next day, in a crappy diner in Osaka. Kikyo had grabbed Inuyasha and dragged him to the black SUV waiting out front. Sesshomaru then took them to the finest hotel in the city of Osaka and bought his half brother a room and supplied him with fresh clothes. It was quickly explained that everyone at T-corp thought had Sesshomaru had flown to Osaka to try and find any remains of Inuyasha's body, and he was going to do just that until he had received that phone call. Sesshomaru informed him over a nice room serviced dinner that everyone believed he was dead. When Inuyasha angrily protested, Sesshomaru stopped him and explained how this could come to their advantage.

-Flashback-

"No! I have to call Kagome, Kouga, Miroku, Sango, everybody!"

"You will not" Sesshomaru ordered. He quickly glanced at his 'unsure what to do' assistant Kikyo letting her know that she too was included in this plan.

"It is obvious that your demon blood saved your life, and you were able to escape from that building. The next time you visit father's grave, be sure to thank him for his strong blood" Sesshomaru spoke nonchalantly. Inuyasha had learned to accept Sesshomaru for what he was; and icy, heartless demon. He had grown accustomed to his half brother's stoic demeanor, but today would not be the day it would go unnoticed.

"Why can't I go home? Why can't I call my friends and tell them that I'm okay?" Inuyasha asked in irritation. Sesshomaru sighed and placed his fork back on his plate lightly, and met Inuyasha's golden orbs with his own.

"The Band of Seven was a group of street dwelling mongrels hired by Naraku to challenge T-corps finest agents. You, being the most formidable agent we have, were the number one target. And Naraku promised the group that if they were to succeed in killing you, then they'd no longer have to live on the filthy streets of Osaka, and they would be included in the riches gained from when he would overthrow our corporation. You and Kouga successfully detained six of the members, except for Bankotsu." Sesshomaru picked up his fork, and resumed taking small bites of his meal, and Kikyo took this as her cue to begin speaking.

"The police reports in Osaka said that the building had exploded from contents of unknown origin, and that the body of a male was found charred and nearly unrecognizable. We knew that this had to be Bankotsu, since Sesshomaru-sama had received your call last night." Kikyo stopped when she saw that Sesshomaru had once again placed his fork on his plate, readying himself to speak.

"Now, here's my chance to ask _you_ some questions" he began. "What happened in that building?"

Inuyasha took a deep breath before explaining to his brother and boss what Bankotsu did and said last night, and how badly the fumes had affected him.

"Mukotsu confessed to creating the concoction in the interrogation hall late last night, but he also said that Naraku had given him a special poison to mix in with that concoction. It's called Miasma, and it is apparently harmful to only demons" Kikyo explained.

"Well then that would explain why I could hardly move then" Inuyasha began. He looked back to his brother waiting for him to deliver the final punch line.

"Naraku will know that the Band of Seven have been taken care of, and he will also think that you are dead. He believes that without Taisho Corporation's most formidable agent in the way, he can continue his plan to overthrow us. But I will not allow that to happen. Your new assignment is to accept missions that I give you that may potentially lead to Naraku. There are several demons and humans that have been conned into working for him, whether it is due to greed or blackmail. With you hiding in the shadows, we can take Naraku out faster. He won't even see you coming."

-End of Flashback-

Of course that meant pretending he was dead.

There were so many things back home that he needed to take care of, and it's been three years since he's even seen Tokyo, much less taken care of anything. All his friends, schoolmates, teachers, neighbors, and girlfriend believed he had been killed. And as much as he itched to let them know that he was still alive and well, he simply couldn't.

Until Naraku Onigumo was found and killed, he couldn't go home.

He knew that this assignment was going to take a while, but not _this_ long. However, Inuyasha knew that if his brother had given him the 'go ahead' to fly back to Sapporo, that he must be close to the end. Just the thought of being back in the country of Japan was exciting him, but he didn't get his hopes up. If he was reaching the end that meant that soon he would have to face Naraku. He just hoped that it wouldn't take another three years.

He closed his window and went back to lie on the mattress. Every day, he wondered what his friends were doing. Were Miroku and Sango married by now? Had Kouga finally admitted he had a thing for Ayame and dated her? Most importantly, how was Kagome?

Where was she working? How was she fairing? Where did she live, at home or her own place? Was she with someone?

The last question made that pain from longing rise in his chest again. She had better not be with someone else, but what if she was? What could he do? It had been three years since he last saw her, touched her, and kissed her. It hurt him deeply to think of her happily married or with another man at all, but if that was the case, he could never blame her. For all she knew, he was dead.

He thought about how he hadn't made it to graduation; he died before then. He wondered how his memorial service went. Did people cry? Did Kagome? Of course she did. Kagome had always been strong, but when her friends or family was hurt, she was hurt. It wouldn't take long for a few tears to slip her eyes over the predicament that a fellow friend was in. Although he didn't know how to handle tears, he loved the compassion she held for others. He reached under his itchy pillow and found his wallet. Opening it up, he pulled out a picture.

It was a photo of him and Kagome at the fair. It was early senior year and the fair was in town. He stared at the beautiful smile she wore and the giant teddy bear she held. Even he himself had a pretty wide smile on his face. That had been a good night. He placed the picture back in his wallet and under the pillow. He needed to get some kind of rest before the morning came.

Inuyasha was determined to put an end to this pain in his chest. He was determined to find his way back to Kagome somehow; he would not, he could not wait another year. Even if it meant going against his brother's word.

"I'll find a way, Kagome. I promise." he said to himself, and closed his eyes.

**Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone reading and supporting this story. Thank you to my first few followers: TAINA23, xoxoSoCal619Sweetheartxoxo, rena555, DamonInuLover23, Joyouki, and Kawaiiemichan. It is much appreciated. I don't know why, but the plot for this story just popped into my head one day and I just had to write it. On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

Ch. 2

"And it's up!"

"Thank…you…kami! I feel like we've been in here for hours."

"That's because we have been, but don't complain. All this work will be completely worth it in the end, Yura."

The two females began to shut down their computers and grab their belongings to leave the office; today had been a long work day. Not that Kagome minded the work, but when her boss called her late last night and gave her an emergency prompt to write about and be posted by tomorrow, she slightly panicked. Thank the heavens for her good writing skills, and Yura's knack for grammar, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to post her latest article online.

Working for _Tokyo's Own_ had proven to be nothing short than a hectic job, and Kagome wouldn't want it any other way. It had always been her dream to be a popular journalist, and she was well on her way. Her junior year of high school, she was presented the opportunity to be an intern at the most popular news station in Tokyo, needless to say she was ecstatic. At first her internship only called for her to wait hand and foot on anchormen and camera crews, but she took notes on how things were operated around there. Soon before long she found herself proofreading journalist's articles before they were printed or posted, and now she _was_ the journalist. It was a true blessing to have gotten the job. She was in her third year of college, and was one of the top online journalists for _Tokyo's Own_ online. Only sheer determination and will-power brought her thus far.

"Are you coming in tomorrow?" Kagome asked.

"Are you kidding me? It'll be a Saturday. Tell me you have better things to do with your life other than work" Yura complained.

"My name is Kagome Higurashi and I am a chronic workaholic."

"Hiiiii Kagome" Yura spoke. Both women burst out in laughter as they exited the large building to the parking garage.

"But seriously though, do you need me to come in?" Yura quickly asked.

"I wanted to go ahead and get started on next week's article."

Yura sighed and stopped at her car which was parked next to her boss's pretty white Mustang and spoke again.

"Kagome, I've already made plans for tomorrow. Can it wait till Monday? Pretty please?" she cooed. Kagome only gave a heavy sigh and forced a smile.

"Yes, I suppose it can cry baby. See you Monday." And with that, Kagome got in her car and waved one more time to Yura before pulling out of the large parking garage onto the busy Friday night streets of Tokyo.

She really didn't want to wait until next week to do it, for one specific reason. Next Wednesday would make three years. Every year around this time, she found herself slipping into a temporary depression. Her mom said it was normal to feel sad around the date of a loved one's passing, using her father's death date as an example. When Kagome was little, she always noticed that around the middle of June, her mother would be lacking in her cheery personality and frown more often than she should. When she brought this up, her mother said it was because she was thinking about all the sweet memories with her husband, and she was sad.

But Kagome didn't want to be sad. It had been three years. Shouldn't it hurt less by now? Shouldn't this pain have ebbed down when it came to the month of January? Last year when she had officially started working for _Tokyo's Own_, she found herself unable to write, think, eat, or do anything productive. Her boss had chided her for not having an article ready to post, and Kagome had been so ashamed. As hard as she tried to get herself to sit at her apartment table and type on her laptop, she couldn't do it. There was a pit in her stomach that couldn't be satiated by food, so she found no point in eating. Her mind was on one person only, not the prompt she was given, so she didn't see it necessary to write. In her opinion, there's no sense in writing unless you're passionate about it. She had literally moped around her apartment, finding herself unable to stop random fits of tears and sobbing; and she was never one to dwell on the past.

Him.

It was still all too painful.

-Flashback-

"Souta, cover your eyes!" Mrs. Higurashi shouted.

"No! I'm old enough to watch this kind of stuff" he retorted. Kagome started to giggle when her mother crossed the living room from her comfortable spot on the couch and covered her son's eyes for him. The boy vocally expressed his displeasure when he groaned at his mother for treating him like a baby. Her grandfather only laughed at his antics as well, embarrassing Souta even further.

"I'm afraid you're not ready for this kind of stuff my boy" grandfather explained. Kagome's giggles turned into laughs upon her grandfather's statement. The group had been watching some dramatic movie and the hero and heroine were expressing their love for each other, physically. It was uncomfortable for her to be watching and listening to such with her family, but it's better to laugh than cry. The doorbell suddenly rang giving Kagome an excuse to leave the room.

"I'll get the door, so mom can protect Souta from the stuff he's not ready for." The two adults laughed and Souta groaned again in embarrassment. He should have known that Kagome was going to join in on the 'fun.' Kagome skipped to the door and was surprised by who she saw standing there.

"Kouga-kun! What's up? Long time no see. Is Inuyasha back too?" She hoped she hadn't sounded insincere with her friend's visit, but she desperately missed her boyfriend. Inuyasha had been gone since the end of December on some kind of mission. Kagome was used to him having to leave at random times during the year for extended periods of time on these missions, but that still didn't ease her longing for him when he was gone. She snapped out of thought and paid more attention to the friend before her. Kouga looked terrible. There were bags under his eyes, his face looked dry and sullen, and the normally mischievous look in his blue eyes was replaced with something else, his hair was also unkempt.

"Kouga, what's wrong?" Kagome stepped out into the chilly night air and closed the door behind him. Had something happened on his mission? Did Ayame turn him down or something?

"Kagome" he started, his voice quiet and cracking "it's Inuyasha."

During Kouga's explanation of what happened, Kagome had sunk to the door steps covering her mouth with one hand, while the other was plunged into her hair. Kouga pretty much told her that Inuyasha was killed during their mission in a building explosion.

"Is Sesshomaru sure the body was his?" she squeaked.

"Apparently the remains were so charred" he choked on his next words "b-but it's hard for Sesshomaru to mistake his own brother's golden eyes" Kouga reasoned. He knew that coming here would be one of the most difficult things he would ever have to do. His mind was still reeling from watching that building explode, and if seeing that wasn't enough, having to listen to people talk about Sesshomaru identifying the body was even worse. Now, here he was explaining to Kagome what happened, and the look on her face was exactly what he imagined it would be; shock, devastation, and anger all at once. Kouga was going to continue speaking about how Sesshomaru was already planning the memorial service, but then the front door opened.

"Kagome, what's going…Kouga-kun, you're here!" Mrs. Higurashi observed the scene before her; a saddened Kouga and a sobbing daughter.

"Mom!" Kagome cried. She turned around and stood up to let herself be embraced by her mother's arms. Mrs. Higurashi immediately began to console her daughter and put together the pieces in her head. Kouga was looking quite defeated, and her daughter was a crying mess. What happened?

"Is this about… Inuyasha? Is he hurt?" she asked calmly. Her answer was heavier crying from Kagome, and a guilty look from Kouga. Apparently something had happened.

"Mrs. Higurashi" Kouga began "Inuyasha is…he was…killed on our last mission. I thought it would be best if I delivered the news." The daughter continued to rapidly breathe and sob, while the mother only stared at Kouga with hurt in her eyes.

"I am so sorry, Kagome" Kouga whispered on the verge of breaking down. "I should have found a way to save him. I should have…gone with him into that building." He was expecting no response to his sullen declaration, so he was quite surprised when Kagome unleashed herself from her mother's grasp and hugged him tightly.

"Kouga, stop" she said to the best of her ability "Don't do that to yourself. It's not your fault, okay? Please, don't take any kind of blame." Kouga, warmed by her embrace, let his hands slide around her back, and returned the hug. Without his consent, one tiny tear slipped from his eye, but he wasn't as concerned as he might have been. He had been holding in his break down for two days now, but here he felt comfortable letting loose.

"Who is responsible for this?" Mrs. Higurashi asked in a low voice. Kouga opened his eyes and Kagome looked up at him, waiting for his answer.

"There's a half demon that T-corp has been in pursuit of for some months now; named Naraku. He manipulates and blackmails humans and demons into doing his dirty work, and apparently one of his goals is taking down T-corp; Inuyasha must have been a target."

Kagome was horrified that someone would want to do that to her beloved boyfriend. Inuyasha may not be the nicest, calmest, or most understanding person in the world, but he was not worse enough to be murdered.

"Why" she cried "why did it have to be him? He didn't deserve this! No one deserves to have their loved one taken from them that way. I…I just can't…how do I deal with this?" She continued to cry and sob, and soon before long, Kouga spilled more tears too. Mrs. Higurashi joined in to make it a group hug and consol the two young people. They stayed like that for a while; the trio in the cold night, trying to comfort one another. It didn't take long before grandpa followed by Souta came outside and saw the commotion; each person latching on somewhere in the circle outside the house, trying to comfort the other.

Mrs. Higurashi tried to invite Kouga in for tea, but he declined, saying that he needed to go see Ayame, but he would visit tomorrow if Kagome allowed it. The school week was still in motion, but he doubted she would be going back to Edo High tomorrow. Soon, the news would get out to the media that Inuyasha Taisho, second heir to Inu no Taisho had been killed in combat. The last thing Kagome needed was a thousand people in her face trying to express their heartbreak for her sake. All she needed were the closest people around her to help her through this rough time.

-End of Flashback-

Kagome waltzed into her high-end apartment in a nice part of Tokyo. She was extremely fortunate to have such a nice car, nice place in a nice area, nice job, nice friends, she looked nice. Everything was in place as it should be.

So, why did she feel so empty?

It didn't matter how hard she worked, how fast her car went, how pretty her apartment was, how much her job paid, how many friends she had, or what she looked like. What was the point of having all of these _nice_ things if she wasn't happy? Well, she was happy, but she had always felt something lacking, and she knew exactly what it was.

Ever since Inuyasha, things had never been the same. She didn't go to a school for a week; that time encompassing the memorial service and all. It was held in a graveyard, obviously for the richer people because of the stone heads, but that entire day, Kagome had been angry. The graveyard was nice, the service was sweet and to the point, she might have had some kind of closure except…

It was a different graveyard then the one Inu no Taisho had been buried in.

Kagome had always known that Sesshomaru slightly resented Inuyasha for his human heritage, but the two had been able to come together over time, which Kagome was glad for. There was no reason that Inuyasha should have taken the blame for his parent's actions. So, when Sesshomaru offered Inuyasha the job at T-corp, their relationship seemed to get better, as best as it could get; Kagome thought that Sesshomaru would have had enough respect for his brother to bury him next to their father.

Instead, the icy demon arranged Inuyasha's plot somewhere else. When Kouga came to Kagome's a few days after his initial announcement, he told her the address of the memorial service; needless to say she was livid. And when she tried to confront Sesshomaru quietly after the service on the matter, he only told her he was sorry for her loss and got in his expensive ass SUV with his assistant. His actions pretty much confirmed that he had never loved or respected Inuyasha at all; he only used him for his benefit and the benefit of T-corp.

Kagome broke herself out of her thoughts and went to her kitchen to make herself a salad. She knew Inuyasha deserved so much better than everything he had gotten. His entire life he had been ridiculed for his hanyou status and trusting people was a rarity. Freshman year he was enrolled in the same high school as she, and their relationship bloomed from there. People at Edo High seemed to like him despite that status, and he even made a few friends; Miroku, Sango, Ayame, and Kouga mainly. Kouga was in a grade higher than all of them, but he and Inuyasha were already acquainted because of T-corp. Kagome had been drawn to him like a moth to a flame. He had an edginess to him that piqued her curiosity, and even though he may look mean most of the time, there was a nice guy underneath that tough exterior he put up. She was more interested as to why it was up. Sophomore year, he began to express some kind of interest in her, and she was ecstatic. Everyone always said they'd make a cute couple anyway, but that was never the reason they got together. Right before junior year, the two assumed a relationship, and no one was surprised, but everyone was happy for them. Kagome had never been in love, and apparently neither had Inuyasha, but both somehow knew that they were. The feelings they had for each other surpassed the feelings they felt for anyone or anything else. Those feelings had skyrocketed senior year when they took the biggest step two young people could take.

As Kagome sat down at her low table to eat, she began to think about their union; the act that sealed their love for one another. The night before he left for that last mission, she spent time with him at the Taisho mansion, and although her visit had been innocent, she certainly didn't leave that way.

-Flashback-

(Scene removed; link to it on my profile).

-End of Flashback-

Kagome suddenly lost her appetite; she hated thinking of that night. As beautiful as it was, it only brought pain now; if only she knew that would be the first and last time the two of them shared something so intimate. She hadn't been with anyone else since then; for some reason she felt guilty if she even thought of it. Although she wasn't some kind of sex fiend, she had needs too, but the thought of her underneath anyone else other than Inuyasha seemed wrong. Someday she would have to get over it and move on. Inuyasha was unfortunately no longer with her, but she doubted he would want her to live a lonely life because of that. There had been other men that expressed her interest in her, and as nice as they were, she just couldn't do it.

The only man that had been able to take her out on a date was none other than Hojo Mori. She had known Hojo since elementary school, and it was a well known fact to students and faculty that he had a crush on her. Kagome was young and never wanted anything to do with boys until high school came around. Maybe she and Hojo might have gone out then if Inuyasha hadn't enrolled. Hojo, along with several other students and teachers, attended Inuyasha's memorial service; he even offered his condolences to her, which Kagome was grateful for. It seemed too ironic that the two would end up working at _Tokyo's Own_ news station together. Hojo was the chief camera man in the news room, and he also covered certain city events such as parades or community events. At first, Kagome was weary of having to work in the same building as him because if there was one thing she knew about Hojo Mori, it was that he never gave up on something he truly wanted. Kagome admired people that were self-motivated and determined, much like her, but there is a line between determination and obsession that she thought Hojo was crossing. He had been working at the news station for a few months longer than she had, and when she got there, he was in her face nearly every day. She appreciated his concern, she really did, but she knew there was an ulterior motive. Kagome didn't have enough fingers or toes to count how many times he had asked her on a date, or asked if they could eat lunch together; she always declined. When fellow co-workers would ask why, she'd simply state that she wasn't interested, which she wasn't. People would complain that she was just being too uptight and that she should give a handsome guy like Hojo a chance, but they obviously didn't know the history behind her actions, and she sure as hell wasn't going to explain herself either.

Yet, just two weeks ago, she finally let him take her out for dinner. She still paid for herself, so she could establish that she wasn't with him for any kind of financial benefits whatsoever. He had been bothered by her actions, but knew better than to question them. They went to one of the nicest sushi bars in the city, and if Kagome had to be 100% honest, she enjoyed herself that night. Hojo was much more enjoyable when he wasn't prodding her, and she liked spending time with him. She drove herself there, and she drove herself back, and there was no thank you kiss exchanged either. Kagome wasn't going to give in to him on the first date, but she also told him that she wouldn't mind going on a second. So, sometime soon, they would go on another date.

Kagome sighed heavily and put the remaining salad in a Tupperware box, and went to take a shower. Stripping herself of her clothes, she let the hot water run and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. There wasn't anything wrong with enjoying herself, even if it meant with someone else other than Inuyasha. It had been three long years since she touched or kissed anyone, or had them do the same to her. She had felt lonely every time she came home from work. She wondered that if Inuyasha had lived, would he be living with her? Would she be living with him? Would she be married? At the thought of marriage, she gasped. Tomorrow she was supposed to be getting fitted for her bridesmaid dress. Kouga and Ayame were getting married in a few more months, and the fittings started tomorrow. She mentally beat herself up for almost forgetting, and hopped in the shower; she _was_ the maid of honor after all! She made it quick, and hopped back out. Throwing her robe around her, she went to her bedroom and observed the desk calendar on her desk; tomorrow was definitely the day. She shot a quick text to Ayame letting her know she didn't forget, and to Sango reminding her as well, for she was also a bridesmaid.

"_I never forgot to begin with Kags. -Sango"_

"_I was hoping you wouldn't forget. -Ayame"_

Kagome only smiled at her friend's responses. Everyone knew she was a busy woman these days, but she made sure to always make time for her friends and family; they had been there before and during her success, and she knew they would be there in her future as well. She threw on a large t-shirt and logged on her laptop to see if she had any important e-mails, which she did. Kai Lomax, her boss, was reminding her and fellow journalists that an awards ceremony was commencing in a month to recognize the most popular online journalist. Now it was well known that Kagome was at the top of the list already, so most people were banking on her receiving the award, and none of the other journalists seemed to be mad about it either. The winner would receive a pay raise, because their articles would go in Tokyo's Own magazines and newspapers, along with going online. That had been the goal Kagome was working on for years; she only prayed that she could get there. Her thoughts had been interrupted when she heard her phone vibrate, she quickly checked to see who it was, and smirked at the message.

"_So, I know you're busy and all, but tomorrow is a Saturday. I found this really nice place to go to for lunch, and we were supposed to be going on another date anyway, so I was wondering if you would like to accompany me. –Hojo M."_

Kagome's smirk turned into a smile at the end of the message; he was really trying wasn't he? She liked his sweetness, and he was a gentleman, plus she had already said she would go on another date with him anyway. Yura turned down her offer on working tomorrow as well, so she had two choices: go out on a nice date, or be bored on a Saturday. She shook her head and replied to his request.

"_That sounds nice, Hojo. Place and time? – "_

"_12:15 pm, Berangs. –Hojo M."_

"_I know exactly where that is. I'll meet you there. – "_

"_Okay, great. Can't wait to see you, Kagome. –Hojo M."_

"_I'm sure see you then. – "_

Kagome collapsed on her bed and closed her eyes in thought for tomorrow. She had to be at the bridal shop at nine, and then make lunch by twelve. She only hoped that Ayame had already had what dresses the bridesmaids would be wearing in mind, because if not, they could be there for hours. She was honored when Ayame asked her to be the maid of honor, and even though it wasn't her proudest moment, she cried. Kouga and Ayame had come to visit her at her place, and announced their engagement, which made Kagome's eyes water. And then Ayame had asked if she would be the maid of honor, tears went streaming down her face. The two had been friends since middle school, and Ayame had been another pillar to lean on when Inuyasha passed. Needless to say, she was beyond happy that Ayame thought to make her the special friend to the bride.

Kagome felt herself drifting off, and turned on her side to cut off the lamp. When darkness enveloped the room, she tried her best to fall asleep as quick as possible. Even though she had much to be happy for, when she was alone in the dark, her thoughts only drifted to one person. She felt that tightness in her chest come back, and begged herself not to cry. Inuyasha was long gone, and there was no going back. If she continued to reflect on the past, she couldn't walk into her future. Kagome had no idea what was going to be waiting for her down the road, but she knew the only thing she could do was continue to walk. As much as she wanted the love of her life by her side, she would have to go one without him.

**Author's Note: The link to the removed (smutty) scene has been placed in my profile bio. Please read it, I spend a lot of time working on it. I hope you guys like this chapter. I've gone over it several times, and still not totally satisfied with it, but I felt the need to update. Sorry for taking so long by the way. Everyone knows teachers like to wait till the last minute to assign projects, and next thing you know, you have ten papers to write. But Thank you to the few people reading and supporting this story. It is always appreciated. **

**Review Please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone reading and supporting this story. Thank you to my new followers: Lilliana1118, .hightower. nikkimb89, CrystalJade, LostDayDreamer13, and witchione. It is always appreciated. On with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

Ch. 3

He hated flying.

Which was actually ironic for someone who could zip through the air as if they were weightless, but that was different. Actually, he was only gliding.

When he was soaring through the air, he was using his own strength and focus; counting only on himself. When he was on a plane, he had to count on some person he didn't know who had probably been drinking the night before to get him somewhere safely. Even if he was a strong half demon, he wasn't sure he could find a way to survive over a mass of water. He could have taken a boat back to Japan, but that would take he didn't know how long and Sesshomaru apparently had some important work for him to do.

Which was not ironic.

When the announcement of land being a few minutes away, Inuyasha silently thanked the kamis for letting him reach Japan safely. He had a feeling that the closer he got to being home, to being with _her_, that something terrible would happen and he would have to stay away from her yet again. Dying in a plane crash was a possible scenario, but what would it matter…

He was dead to her anyway.

Literally, he was. As much as he wanted to be angry at someone, anyone, for that fact, he couldn't. His job was his job, and the fate of demon kind rests in the hands of T-corp agents. If spending some time away from Kagome would ensure his safety as well as hers, and the safety of the world possibly, then he could stomach the rage. But everyday he was gone, he felt like he was running out of time. Which was understandable; it had been three years. Kagome was beautiful, and no doubt there were sure to be men feigning for her. Another announcement sounded and alerted passengers that they would be descending soon, so they were so make sure their seatbelts were on, and not panic.

If she was seeing someone else, he had no right to be angry. Well, he did, but not at her. In his mind he painted out another possible scenario, and his lips turned further downward at it. He could see it now, completing his mission, and running back to Tokyo to find Kagome and where she lived, and when he would ring the doorbell, some other prissy looking man would answer it and ask him who he was. Then Kagome would appear around the corner, as beautiful as ever, and ask him who was at the door, and would probably slap the shit out of him when she saw him, telling him that she already moved on. And then she would kiss her husband and close the door in his face, leaving him alone, on a quiet street, wondering why the gods would taunt him.

Okay, so maybe that was a little too melodramatic. But could he stomach _that_? Could he stand letting her go? After endless days and nights of thinking about her, and her being his ultimate goal, could he live without her?

'What the fuck is wrong with me?' he asked himself. Why was he worrying so much? The closer he got the more nervous and paranoid he became. The descent of the plane was a little less than smooth, but he followed the instructions and did not panic. Hitting the runway, he found himself thinking about the following mission to come. Sesshomaru had not told him much, but he did inform him that the person they were after had direct ties to Naraku, and if they could detain them, then they'd be a huge step closer to getting rid of him; which was fine by him. Inuyasha would love to sink his claws into the bastard that tried to have him killed, and kept him away from his friends and girlfriend for years.

He wasn't surprised to see Kikyo when he grabbed his bags and went to the front of the airport. She was standing there, stone-faced as ever, in a black, expensive looking skirt suit with red heels. Why the woman had to dress up for every single occasion, like picking someone up from an airport, he would never understand. Approaching and stopping in front of her, Inuyasha decided to speak.

"Where are we off to?" he asked impassively.

"Mr. Taisho requested that I take you to dinner" she answered quickly, almost as if she had been expecting it, and turned to stomp off towards the exit, her heels clicking confidently with every step. Following suit, he let his eyes wander from her feet to her legs, and to her back. Kikyo was definitely a beautiful woman. Inuyasha had no idea that this human woman was his brother's assistant until his 'death.' He had never heard his brother mention the woman before, and when Inuyasha first met her, he wondered why she was so uptight. Granted, he never made any kind of attempt to start a real conversation, and he didn't want to. At first, he wondered if Sesshomaru noticed how good looking she was and had tried anything with her, but then he dismissed that thought from his head when he truly analyzed it. Sesshomaru was not a demon to mix business with pleasure, so Inuyasha doubted there was anything romantic between the two.

He also wasn't surprised when he was being led to a black SUV with a driver. There was no telling how many SUVs the company had; Sesshomaru even drove one on occasion. Loading his bags in the trunk, the driver slammed it shut and opened the door for Inuyasha to sit in the back seat while Kikyo sat in the passenger. The ride to wherever they were going for 'dinner' was quiet, and it was making him slightly uncomfortable. Sapporo, Japan was covered in snow, which means the downtown area was covered with people making giant cartoon character sculptings. Truthfully, Inuyasha didn't like snow. It was such a drab time of year to him. There was absolutely no color or heat; why people enjoyed playing in the shit, he'd never know. Not to mention, Kagome didn't like the cold either, but occasionally she would drag him out for a snowball war with their friends; that was the only pro to the cons of winter.

The SUV stopped at what was obviously a high end restaurant in the heart of downtown Sapporo, and Inuyasha got out to follow Kikyo, whom was already walking in the direction of the entrance. She whispered in the host's ear and he immediately nodded his head and led the couple to a table in the back. It was quiet, and there was already a bottle of wine set up there; which he wouldn't be drinking. In Inuyasha's opinion, liquor was the only kind of alcohol for him. Sitting down at the table, he wondered exactly why his brother had requested Kikyo take him out for dinner. It could be a small 'thank you for detaining that psycho evil priestess bitch' or it could be 'I'm going to butter you up over dinner while explaining your next mission that might take another three years.' Inuyasha had learned that Sesshomaru was a cut and dry person; he never said any more or any less than was necessary.

"Any questions, Mr. Taisho?" Kikyo suddenly spoke while looking over the rim of her menu.

"It's Inuyasha, and yeah. What's my objective here?" he asked back.

"Your objective, Mr. Taisho, is finding something to order off the menu and waiting for me to brief you."

Well, wasn't this bitch rude? He was obviously asking what his next mission was, but people loved to be smart asses. Not one to back down so easily, he was going to continue prying, but the waiter showed up and took their orders. Inuyasha really hadn't looked at the menu long, so he decided on some type of expensive sushi and called it a day. Once the waiter was out of earshot, Inuyasha turned his gaze straight across the table to be met with Kikyo's cold, brown eyes.

"Brief" he ordered. Kikyo's lips did a slight turn upward at his sternness, but she decided to humor him.

"Thanks to your and other team's advancements in this fight against Naraku, we have uncovered much information about him. His objective is clear: take down T-corp. The reason why is still unknown. Every person we catch and detain will not talk. Even the remaining members of the Band of Seven wouldn't talk."

"Their time in the Confines should sway them, shouldn't it?" Inuyasha asked abruptly.

"I was thinking along the same line, but Sesshomaru convinced me otherwise. He claimed that if they were willing to go to the Confines to conceal information, then they weren't going to talk period. If they just so happen to have a change of heart, it will be on their own account."

"We could resort to forms of torture" he proposed. Inuyasha knew how cruel that sounded, but didn't care. Kikyo only let out an amused huff.

"Your brother wouldn't do that. As much as he wants to, he still won't authorize the torturing of humans. There are certain guidelines T-corp has to follow when it comes to dealing with rogue humans under demon influence, and he's going to follow them."

"Sounds like cowardice to me" Inuyasha bit out. Kikyo sipped her wine and stared at him over the rim of her glass.

"He's not, and he's not even close. Even a man of his caliber has to follow rules. The only reason you're saying that is because you're getting impatient."

"And what the hell am I impatient about, Kikyo?"

"Kagome Higurashi."

He didn't know why, but hearing her name made his heart race. Of course she was right, but for pride's sake…

"You don't know a thing."

"I know more than you believe. I'm sure you'd like to know where she is, and what she's doing. Who she's with."

Those last three words made Inuyasha's jaw line jut forward and he made no attempt to hide his anger.

"What do you know?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Apparently, not one thing, Mr. Taisho" she laughed bitterly over her wine, and Inuyasha finally decided that he did not like this woman one bit. She was manipulative and icy; no wonder Sesshomaru hired her. Setting her glass down, Kikyo resumed a professional stance and spoke again.

"Kanna Lee. An eighteen year old demoness with remarkable powers. She possesses a mirror that can steal the souls of those reflected in it, and once she has the souls, she can control their bodies. It has taken us a long time to get a hold of her, for she is relatively untraceable."

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked quickly.

"It's nearly impossible to scent trace her, for she was created to be untraceable" she responded matter-of- factly. She saw Inuyasha's obvious confusion at her words and decided to explain further.

"The only reason we found her is because a T-corp team was in charge of taking out someone that also works with her. They detained him, and he released information about his current business, and Kanna Lee's name came up. The man's name was Byakuya, and he is a personal assistant of Naraku's; so is Kanna. Byakuya let us know that he had never killed anyone personally, but that he was simply a messenger, and someone to keep watch over other assailants under Naraku's orders. The team detained him outside of Tokyo."

Inuyasha's breath hitched when he heard those words. "Why were they so close to main grounds?" Main grounds being the capital of all T-corp facilities.

"He says that there is someone in Tokyo that is also a personal assistant of Naraku, and that he was simply keeping watch. He will not tell us who." Kikyo stopped talking when she saw the waiter come back with their orders. Nodding quickly in appreciation, she began to eat and wait for Inuyasha to speak.

"We need to find out who the hell it is! They can't let someone get so close to home."

"There's nothing we can do without a name. An assailant of Naraku's could be working in the T-corp facility right now and we'd never know it. Until they let us know first."

Those chilling words were left unaccompanied in the air, and Inuyasha found his fists clenching underneath the table. What exactly in all seven blue hells was Sesshomaru and everyone else doing back home that they'd let someone be so close, and not even capture them? Was it because Sesshomaru believed that they still wouldn't talk?

"Is he using them as bait?" he asked.

"Possibly. I don't know, he doesn't tell me everything" she replied in a bored tone.

"That's the only logical thing I can see. Maybe he's planning on taking all these personal assistants out of the way so Naraku shows his face."

"Possibly."

He sighed heavily and began to eat his meal; the food certainly was worth the financial request. So now he knew that his current mission was to detain Kanna Lee, and question her on Naraku's whereabouts. Neither was going to be easy.

888

"It sounds like you had a nice time."

"I did, but you know…"

"I know. Take everything one step at a time, Kagome."

"Says the woman that doesn't know when to slow down. Bringing a caterer with poultry samples to a bridal shop was not a 'one step at a time' deal. I thought the shop owner was going to piss his pants when he saw you trying to sample that meat in your wedding dress."

The other woman only burst out in laughter over the phone and wiped tears of mirth away from her eyes. "Hey, I'm pressed for time, damn it!"

"Shouldn't have procrastinated, Ayame. I think you forgot that getting married actually consists of work. Now it's less than three months away and the only thing you have is a color scheme, and a location."

"Well maybe if someone spent less time on their job and more time helping their best friend, I would have more than a color scheme and a location, Kagome!"

Both women laughed at their silliness and the topic of conversation went somewhere else.

"Kouga called me earlier. He's back in the city, but he's at T-corp of course. He has to write a statement over his last mission."

"Good! Has he decided on a tux?"

"Black. That's the only thing he ever wears."

"Maybe once you two are married, he'll let you change his wardrobe a little bit."

"I doubt it. I've been suggesting he try this thing called 'color' for years, but it hasn't quite sunk it yet."

The conversation went on for a little while longer until Kagome said that she was going to go ahead and start on some work. This Saturday had been a long one. First, the bridal gown fitting hadn't gone as planned. The dress that Ayame really wanted was a little too tight on her, and that made her cry. Then she invited the caterer to the shop with various meats, and the bridesmaids almost ruined a few dresses. The lunch date with Hojo had gone well. Nothing embarrassing happened, and they mainly talked about work. Kagome found herself enjoying male company, but not too much; they didn't kiss, but only hugged before parting ways. When she got back home, she received a call from her mother saying that she was missed and she needed to plan to visit soon, so now she needed to find time in her schedule to take a little trip home. Her best bet was to go ahead and look at the ratings for the article she just posted yesterday.

Every time she logged onto her laptop to check the ratings, a bundle of nerves started coiling in her stomach. Journalism was her dream, but everyone knows that the criticism of people determined whether you 'lived or died' in the news industry. Much to her enjoyment but not surprise, the article had received much praise overnight; she made a mental note to thank Yura again later. At this rate, she'd be sure to win the award for best journalist of the year in Tokyo, and get that promotion.

888

"This is a hell of a lot better than some crappy apartment in the slums" Inuyasha stated. After dinner, the driver escorted him and Kikyo to his new living facilities for the next few…however the hell long this mission would take.

"I'm glad you like it" Kikyo responded, leaning on the frame of the open doorway.

The apartment wasn't anything fancy, but it certainly was clean and organized. There weren't random cracks in the ceiling, and there was even a nice flat screen TV on a stand. Even though it was small, Inuyasha was extremely grateful for that. The kitchen was average consisting of a refrigerator and counter with a sink, but he wouldn't want anything else. The bedroom was much more spacious, and there was an actual bed; not just a mattress on the floor. This was definitely a come up.

"I wonder why the asshole decided to give me something nice this time" Inuyasha said while removing his ever-present hat and throwing it on the bed. When he found a small cabinet in the bedroom with whiskey in it, his heart thumped in appreciation.

"He didn't. I did" Kikyo replied in a nonchalant tone. When she saw Inuyasha whip around with a glass and whiskey bottle in his hand, she explained.

"I told him it wouldn't hurt to let you stay somewhere nice this time. Even though we're trying to conceal your identity, you can afford to stay somewhere decent."

Inuyasha was truly confused as to why she even cared, but decided not to question her on it. Not caring that she was in the bedroom doorway, he set his glass down and pulled his t shirt over his head exposing his upper body. Grabbing his glass again, he walked over to the bedroom window to open it and let the cold air wash over him. Kikyo took this as her cue to leave and turned her body to do so, but stopped when she heard him speak.

"What are they doing?" he asked quietly.

"Who?" she responded just as quietly.

"My friends."

The woman felt her heart beat increase slightly when he spoke. She noticed the slight crack in his voice when the word 'friends' came out, and she noticed how his shoulders sulked; he was obviously thinking about them.

"You know I'm not allowed to tell you, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha didn't let the fact that Kikyo said his name for the first time tonight go unchecked, and he didn't try to conceal the huff of annoyance upon her statement.

"You and Sesshomaru keep tabs on them. For what? If you're not going to tell me." He had made a good point. What was the point of stalking someone if the information proved no benefit; Sesshomaru never did anything without a benefit in sight. Not that he needed anything, but wasted time seemed to be the man's trigger to anger. He heard Kikyo sigh and knew that she was contemplating whether to tell him anything or not. He wasn't going to beg for information, but shit, couldn't he know just one thing about the people that matter the most to him?

"Kouga and Ayame are getting married soon; less than three months to be exact. Sango and Miroku live together, but aren't married yet. Both of them attend medical school. Kagome attends school and is a successful online journalist for _Tokyo's Own_. She lives in the richer part of the city now; her success is quite inspiring."

He was a grown ass man; a grown ass half demon for that matter; a Taisho to be even more specific. So why the hell was there a tight feeling in his chest that he could only distinguish as one thing? He would never in his life cry in front of someone, and tonight wasn't about to change that. But when he heard what Kikyo told him, it opened the gate of longing even wider. His best friend was getting married soon, his other best friends were attending medical school like they always planned, and Kagome was a successful journalist like she always dreamed to be.

And he wasn't there to see any of it.

"Is there someone else?" he asked lowly, trying to hide the tone of sadness and disappointment in his voice. Apparently he didn't do a good job of that though, because he heard the soft sound of heels on carpet coming his way, but he didn't turn around. Not even when he felt a surprisingly warm hand on his bare shoulder.

"Don't do this to yourself. It's not your fault this happened. Believe me when I say that we're closer than ever before to ending this battle with Naraku. It might even get done in time for Kouga's wedding…" Kikyo paused, not knowing whether she should say what was placed on her heart to say, but she believed Inuyasha needed to hear it.

"They mourned for you, you know. It devastated them all when they heard the news; especially Kagome. And she's not with anyone else."

Nope, today would not be the day he would cry in front of anyone, and yet he felt his eyes become half lidded from relief and sadness at the same time. No water would spill.

"Thank you, Kikyo." He needed to thank her. Inuyasha knew that she wasn't supposed to tell any information about home in fear that it might deter him from his missions. But that was sure as hell a stupid thought, because his friends were what kept him going. They drove him to complete this mission more than anything.

Especially Kagome.

888

"You're so old fashioned."

"Don't complain. Soon enough, Kouga, soon enough."

"How the hell am I supposed to wait for soon enough when you walk around my place in _that_?"

Kouga sat on the foot of his bed while his fiancé so kindly unpacked his belongings for him. This last mission had taken a week, but he swore it felt like ages. The man they had been looking for was hopping from place to place in Japan, and they finally caught him outside of Tokyo. His team had personally escorted the assailant back to T-corp, and he sang like a canary. Well not completely. The person that he claimed he was 'watching' for Naraku he would not reveal. He was quickly snapped out of his thoughts when Ayame bent over to pick something out of his suitcase, wiggling her ass in the process.

"See what I mean? Soon enough isn't soon enough" Kouga proclaimed. He stood up and grabbed her from behind, throwing her on her stomach on the bed. Her laughs and giggles were music to his ears. Hearing that was a lot better than orders and directions and statistics. It was so much better than work.

"Kouga!" she giggled "stop." She felt a pair of lips press her neck and she bit her lip to keep from moaning. Maybe soon enough wasn't soon enough.

"Stop wearing booty shorts over here and maybe I will" he responded. He knew she was holding back when he was kissing her neck, so to egg her on, he slid a hand down to grab her oh so soft ass. She still made no sound, but feeling her jump underneath him was all the confirmation he needed. The feel of her body arched against his was becoming too much, so he got off her and she rolled over to lie on his chest.

"I do it just to tease you" Ayame stated. She heard her fiancé laugh and she laughed too. That's why he called her old fashioned. As long as the couple had known each other, and as long as they had actually been dating, never once had they had sex. It wasn't as if they didn't want to, by every kami they _needed_ to. But Ayame was 'old fashioned' and always wanted to wait until marriage. Doing so with a boyfriend like Kouga was surely difficult, but he respected her wishes, no matter how difficult it was for him. It was just another reason why she loved him.

"I'm glad your home" she said after a few moments of silence. Kouga kissed her temple in response and hugged her body closer to his. It was moments like these that the couple had learned to cherish more than anything else. They'd kiss and cuddle before every mission he left for, and they did the same thing every time he came back. It had become a routine for them, and not a bad one either. They only started dating soon after Inuyasha's passing. It was like Kouga realized how short life was, and he had liked Ayame for a long time anyway, so then felt like the perfect time. She comforted him and Kagome like it was a sixth sense. He liked her compassion and loved when it was directed towards him. Over time, he realized that it was something he would never want to live without, thus them getting married soon. They didn't live together because Ayame said that would open the door for more temptation, and she wasn't lying. Sometimes it was hard for Kouga to contain himself around her, but that was only because he cared for her so much. And because it had been years since he'd gotten any. But all that could wait until she was ready. For now, he was content with these quiet moments. And even though they were silent, they both knew what this moment stood for. It was a silent way of them rejoicing the fact that he had come back home. After watching Kagome lose Inuyasha, the two had always made sure to spend this time together before and after every mission. It was devastating to see how much Kagome crumbled, and inspiring to see how she gained it all back with true determination. He was pretty proud of how successful his friend was becoming, and he really wished Inuyasha was here to see it.

Speaking of Inuyasha…

Kouga didn't know how or why, but he had been having premonitions. It would commonly be called instinct among his kind, but he didn't see it as that. He knew that the operation for taking out Naraku was drawing to a close, but he wasn't sure how. His team had only taken out a few assailants in the past few years, and there were sure to be more than a few assailants out there. When he tried to question Sesshomaru once at a meeting how they were close to defeating Naraku, he had dodged the question in that extremely annoying ass way he always does.

By not answering.

When he reviewed the reports coming from other areas and facilities, he was seeing a pattern. Each assailant that had been detained all had the same injuries. Each one put up a fight of course, but none had won. Each criminal had an eerily mark of five shallow claw marks somewhere on their body; those were claw marks Kouga knew all too well. Granted, nearly all demons had claws, but something about those five marks…

So when Kouga put this information together, he was coming up with an answer that wasn't likely; it wasn't possible. Inuyasha was dead. But the evidence of those detained criminals was saying different, and Sesshomaru was extra reserved when questions asked about T-corp actions in Asia were asked. Each criminal was taken out with extreme precision, and it was done so quietly. Kouga only knew one person that did that…

But it just wasn't possible.

Maybe the other facilities were coming up. Maybe they found some extremely skilled demons that use claws as their main defense, and take out an enemy in such a short amount of time, and remain a ghost to the rest of the world for a long amount of time. This was stuff Kouga hadn't seen since three years ago, but here it was. Once Naraku was finally taken care of, he'd like to meet the demon team responsible for handling the other affairs in Asia. For starters, they took a huge load off his back because that meant he didn't have to leave the country, and secondly because he wanted to know who had attack strategies so close, almost too close, to his deceased friend.

"Are you alright?" Ayame suddenly asked. Kouga snapped out of his thoughts and hummed in a way showing confusion.

"You're scent changed. You're worried" she stated confidently. Kouga mentally sighed. The damn demoness always had such a strong sense about moods, and here she was showing it.

"I'm fine. I'm gonna finish unpacking" he responded after a moments thought, and moved Ayame off him to get to his suitcase. Ayame sat on the bed watching him lazily unpack his belongings and wondered what she had said or done to worry him, because he was certainly worried; his scent was doused in it.

"Now you're worried" Kouga stated with his back turned to her so that she missed his nose twitch.

"Because something is bothering you. You know Kouga, I understand that I keep holding out on you, but I don't want you to be upset because-

"Stop. It's not you, babe. It's just…work, that's all. I already told you I'm okay with waiting."

That seemed to convince her enough, because Kouga felt her scent return to normal as she got up to help him finish unpacking. They both moved in silence until Ayame suddenly remembered that she needed to tell him about they dress fitting earlier that morning. Kouga found himself bubbling with laughter when she told him that she brought that caterer to the shop. She loved to kill two birds with one stone.

But even throughout the laughter and the conversations, Kouga's mind kept drifting back to the new information he obtained. He needed to get Sesshomaru alone and talk to him; something just didn't seem right.

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone reading and supporting this story so far, it really makes me happy. So, uh oh, Kouga is on to something! I'm having so much fun writing this, and I hope you all are enjoying reading it. I promise I will try not to let another two weeks pass before I update. School has been hectic since then and it was really stealing my time to write, but since it's spring break, I had some extra time to think and write. **

**Review Please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Thank you to my new followers: tn65loverinuy620jd, and fanficnewbiee. It is always appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. **

Ch. 4

"Screw this damn snow."

Inuyasha was sure he sounded like a grumpy old man, but it didn't matter to him. Today was supposed to be the first day of his 'creeping' on Kanna Lee. If she had direct ties to Naraku as T-corp was led to believe, then he was one giant step closer to being Scott free from all this mess. Matter of fact, when this was over, he was going to quit working for Taisho Corporations as an agent. There had to be safer, more convenient jobs out there than this.

He had some ideas on where to start looking. According to the files that his asshole of an older half brother emailed him, Kanna didn't travel much. Apparently Byakuya told T-corp interrogators that she only comes out at night. When asked why, he got silent. So night time it would be.

The current case reports in Osaka state that four girls had gone missing a couple months ago. Inuyasha made another note of that. It seems that nearly all of his missions were centering around missing children, particularly girls. He couldn't figure out why though. When he tried to think of what Naraku could want with teenage and below girls, he shuddered. He really hoped to every kami that it wasn't what he thought it was. All four girls were sixteen and attended a small high school in Osaka. There didn't seem to be anything special about them or their family. Just normal working class people trying to get by in the world. All four girls were friends, and they disappeared one night while walking back from a movie theatre.

Inuyasha went ahead and put two and two together and decided that Kanna, the lady who only came out at night, was responsible for the girl's disappearance, which happened at night. But since the girls were all taken at once, there was no way to find a pattern in Kanna's actions. The bitch was clever, Inuyasha would give her that, but certainly not clever enough. Over the years Inuyasha had learned that finding a flaw in a system or in someone's actions could prove to be just as effective as the cliché 'seek and destroy' tactics. Charging into battle head first wasn't always a good idea, but it got the job done. Sitting down and waiting for someone to make a mistake was effective, but always took a long time. Inuyasha didn't know how much time he had. If there were girls missing, he hoped they were being held hostage instead of dead. What could a half demon want with human souls?

"Better get to it" he said to himself. Inuyasha got up from his kitchen table and went to his room. He grabbed a pair of black pants and black boots for the snow. He threw on a white long sleeve shirt and a black bomber over it. Of course, he couldn't forget shades and a beanie. If someone asked him why he wore shades in the winter, he would just flick them off. It wasn't there business that he was hiding his identity. Making sure that he tucked a gun in his jacket and some extra bullets for measure, he made his way out of the apartment. He didn't need to carry much. If he was fatally wounded on the mission, someone would find him and report him to the nearest hospital, so he never carried a cell phone. Sesshomaru always had a way of keeping tabs on him somehow; it was kind of disturbing. Plus the risks of someone tapping in his phone were too high, so no phone for him.

It was still daylight, if you could say that. More like it was day time with a sheet of white particles clouding the sky. The best thing for him to do at the moment was learn the city. Find places where a woman like Kanna Lee might hide. This was going to be especially hard to do since no one has seen any activity from her since those two months ago. But Byakuya claimed that she was still in Osaka. Either she was here, or somebody was lying. Either way, Inuyasha would detain her, and get back home.

888

"But Kagome. You boost our ratings every time you post! You can't simply take the week off!"

This was tedious. Kagome was in her beloved boss' office trying to ask for the rest of the week off. Her ratings for her last article were amazing, and she felt like some time off was well deserved.

Lies. It was that week. The week where she couldn't even bring herself to eat, much less focus on writing.

"Mr. Lomax, please. Yura and I have been working double time to publish these articles, and I feel like we both need some time off. That'll give some of the other online journalists a chance, right?"

Although Kai was a great boss and leader, he was also stubborn and showed favoritism towards the people that brought in the most dollars for _Tokyo's Own. _No one dared to test him though. He was a shorter man, a little bulky, brown skinned, and wore square rim glasses. Even though people disliked him sometimes, no one could ever hate him. He had a smile and laugh that could light up an entire room.

Still annoying though.

"Miss Higurashi, no no no! Is that what this is about? Giving other people a chance? Are other journalists bullying you? Do I need to intervene? They're just jealous. Jealous that you get better ratings and you're going to get this award and get a pay raise…"

"Mr. Lomax, I can't work this week" Kagome interrupted with. She hadn't intended telling her business, but she was desperate. It was Monday and Wednesday was the day. Just last night she found herself waking up out of nightmares of Inuyasha's blood on her hands somehow. Her appetite was gone because of that alone. The last thing she needed was to sit in a quiet office where she was subject to the silence screaming the truth. The truth being that she was alone.

"What in the kami's names, why not!?" Kai half yelled.

"I…I lost someone important to me around this time of year and I cannot bring myself to work effectively in the midst of my grief."

There. That was the most professional way to put it. She wasn't going to break down in her boss' office and beg for a break. If it was absolutely necessary that she work, then so be it. But kami if there was a way to avoid it...

"I…wasn't aware, Kagome. And I am truly sorry. But are you sure you want to skip a week?" Kai seemed truly concerned, but Kagome knew better. His concern was for the dollars, and not her wellbeing.

"I'll be alright. One week won't kill me. Hell, you can even dock my pay, just please." Kagome was becoming desperate. Even when she tried to convince him that she would be fine with a week's absence, his face said otherwise. It said 'I'm not letting you take off.' If only she could truly express how upset she already was. Mr. Lomax sighed and placed his intertwined hands underneath his chin. Kagome prayed that whatever he was contemplating would lean towards her being able to take off. It was embarrassing, yes, to let something that happened so long ago affect her entire work ethic now.

"Alright" Kai answered after what felt like ages. "Take the week off, and I won't dock your pay. But if you do this again…"

"I know" Kagome interrupted. Kai had a pet peeve with slackers.

"You're dismissed, and I offer condolences in your time of bereavement."

His office phone soon rang after his sentence, and Kagome took this as her cue to leave. His words of parting sounded as sincere as someone merely discussing the weather, but she didn't expect anything different from Kai. She decided to stop by the main office to see if Yura showed up to work, and was glad when she saw her sitting at her desk waiting for her.

"What's our schedule today, boss?" Yura asked in a cheery voice.

"Our schedule" Kagome started while sitting in her desk chair and leaning back "is that we don't have a schedule. I'm taking the week off."

Yura looked shocked at Kagome's statement. She only started working for her two months ago anyway, so it wasn't like she knew why.

"Kagome, I'm…I don't understand. You never take time off. Is something wrong? Is it because you know you're getting the journalist of the year award? You know what people always say, never get comfortable. Stay on your toes."

Yura kept babbling about something, but Kagome was no longer listening. She was tired. Tired of explaining, tired of crying, tired of feeling tired. These feelings had come upon her over the weekend, and if things were this bad now, she could only imagine how she would be feeling later.

"And you're not even listening to me" Yura shouted. Kagome turned her distant gaze on Yura's face and smiled mildly.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't. What were you saying?" she asked kindly.

"I was saying" Yura started while checking her nails "that the awards ceremony is in three weeks. Your ratings are still surpassing others, but you have one person on your tail. Kagura Kaze. Her ratings aren't as good as yours, but if you slack off…"

"I won't. I'm not" Kagome interrupted. Was this all people cared about? Kagome Higurashi from _Tokyo's Own_ wins journalist of the year. It sounded amazing, she couldn't lie, but there was so much more to her work than the title. Everything she wrote she put her heart and soul into. She researched the feelings of the common folk and applied it to her writing, which is what kept her in good standings with the public. She wasn't born into some high class life, and she wasn't always financially blessed. Everything she had now came from understanding and determination. She hoped people saw that instead of only 'journalist of the year.'

And Kagura Kaze. She too worked at Tokyo's Own and was also in the ranks for journalist of the year. Most journalists came from different news stations in Tokyo, but there were two nominated from the same news station, thus creating tension. Personally, Kagome had no problem with Kagura. Sometimes the two would go out for a quick coffee date or meet up in the lounge accidentally. Either way, they laughed and made conversation. On a business level however, Kagome disagreed with her style of writing. Kagura appealed more to the first class people in Tokyo and Japan. She was favorited for her gossipy articles and reviews about restaurants that only the fortunate could afford. Hell, the woman looked like one million bucks every day with her high heels in every color, expensive suits, black hair in a bun, and blood red nails. The demoness truly embodied the branch of 'news' that Kagome disliked.

But other than that, she had absolutely no problem with the woman who's office was a few doors down from hers. Her office had a huge glass window for a great view of the city, while Kagome's had only one small one that was decorated with a picture of her and her father when she was little. Underneath the photo was a sticky note with a quote her father always told her.

"_Dream big, and your winnings will be bigger."_

Kagome followed that quote all of her life. Other than journalist of the year, her ultimate goal was to own _Tokyo's Own_ one day. Of course she'd have to wait for Kai to kick the bucket or give it to her, which wasn't going to happen anytime soon, or at all.

"But if you wanna take the week off then go ahead."

Yura had been talking all this time, yet again Kagome was not listening. She was so busy reflecting.

"Yura, what if we owned this place one day?" Kagome asked with longing in her voice.

"What? What have you been smoking? Kai would die ten times before he gave this place up."

Both women began to laugh and imagine a constant reviving Kai. This station was his stronghold, and heavens forbid he ever lose it. They'd be sure to visit him in the asylum.

"You never told me how the little lunch date with Mr. Mori went" Yura cooed. Kagome winced at her editor's tone and decided that saying less would be enough.

"It was nice. We talked, ate, laughed, and then I went home." Kagome stood to tidy up her little office since she wouldn't be there the rest of the week. She smirked when she heard Yura click her tongue behind her.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Kagome. Hojo has been on your ass for years from what I know, and you still haven't kissed him? I wonder how he does it."

"How he does what?" Kagome asked loudly.

"How he stands getting turned down every time."

"I didn't turn him down! I went out with him, didn't I?" Kagome half yelled.

"For the second time in years, and you still haven't kissed him! Miss Higurashi, are you sure you're into the male species?"

Before Kagome could chuck her small earth stress ball at Yura for her insinuation, the editor had gotten up and bolted out of Kagome's office saying she would see her next week, laughing all the way down the quiet hallway. Kagome let a full smile show. Yura was a great partner and a great friend, but there were some things that she still didn't know about Kagome.

Inuyasha being the main thing, of course.

She was sick of thinking about him. It wasn't as if she hadn't thought about him every day since the morning he left to never return. But this week, the thoughts and reflection affected her more than any other time of the year. She hated the month of January now. She was sure her mother would be calling her sometime soon to check in on her grief stricken daughter. Sango had already texted her this morning with a quote about moving on. It was a sweet gesture, but it irritated her. Was she really so hopeless?

Of course not, Sango was only trying to help, and Kagome mentally scolded herself for thinking anything different. She shook her head and sighed, grabbing her purse and double checking to make sure her desktop was shut down completely. Her door closed behind her with an echoing sound, and soon her heels and shuffling were the only noises in the hallway. She hated when it was this quiet at work. She liked to hear people laughing and chattering amongst themselves on the floor's lounge; floor 16 out of 30. Personally she had never been on the thirtieth floor because that was the executive board's meeting room. Maybe one day she'd make it there. Taking the elevator down to the parking garage, she trudged her way to her car lost in thought. She was hungry, but she didn't want to eat. A permanent, nagging nausea had been in the pit of her stomach since last night's nightmare. She was sure that skipping one meal would be alright, just for today.

As she pulled off, she never noticed the person watching her from behind a tall pillar the entire time.

888

"You need to make an appointment."

"Can he spare two seconds? It's important" Kouga asked with irritation laced in his voice.

"Everything is always important" Kikyo drawled. "People say that all the time when they wish to speak with Mr. Taisho, and they still have to make an appointment. You are no exception."

Kouga ground his teeth and attempted to keep his wits about him. He never liked Kikyo, and never understood why Sesshomaru would hire this human woman to be his personal assistant. Rumors had spread around the building, quietly for their sake, that the two were a thing. Kouga didn't care, but he also didn't like the woman's attitude. She looked impassive yet stony, icy and warm all at once. It confused him, and he hated puzzles. He calmly placed his hands on the desk in front of him in hopes that his stance would stress the importance of his request to talk to Sesshomaru.

"Look, Kikyo" he said lowly "the matters of which I need to discuss with Sess-, eh, Mr. Taisho are more important than you think. I can't explain to you what it is right now, but I'm on to something and I think he would want to be informed."

Kikyo looked up from her computer screen and stared at Kouga for what felt like days. She reached under her secretary desk and pulled out a plain white binder full of dates and times.

"The next available date is this Friday at 2pm. Is that alright with you?" she asked flatly.

Politeness be damned.

"Look here you boring, stick up the ass, bi…"

"Is there an issue here?"

Kouga paused and took a breath before turning around slowly. Sesshomaru had just walked in and probably only heard the tail end of that conversation. The stoic demon lord was looking put together and uninviting as usual. Only Kouga sensed a hint of anger somewhere in his scent, but it was concealed quite well. Maybe he only imagined it.

"Mr. Convel requested an audience with you, and I told him he'd have to wait" Kikyo answered. It took willpower for Kouga not to turn around and glare that the damn woman.

"I am pressed for time." Sesshomaru dropped the formalities. He walked as gracefully as ever over to a pair of large black doors leading to his office. Kouga would have thought that meant 'no' until he heard Sesshomaru call out.

"Make this quick."

Doing exactly that, he followed Sesshomaru into his grand office, making sure to turn around and smirk at Kikyo on the way. Following quickly behind the demon lord, Kouga made sure to close the doors behind him. The office was utterly quiet; air cool in the room. Here his office was, black with gold accents thrown in the room. The dark carpet, black oval desk, black chairs all laced in gold décor. The artwork in the room was impressive. Kouga had forgotten how elegant Sesshomaru liked things despite his never ending impassiveness. He waited for his boss to take a seat behind the desk before he sat in front. It was a sign of respect.

"Mr. Taisho…" Kouga started.

"Kouga, please. The formalities are not needed here" Sesshomaru answered flatly as ever. The invitation may have been nice, but his tone of voice contradicted that. It's not as if they were close, but Kouga's fighting skills placed him on the high list of T-corp. He and Sesshomaru were always having meetings, of course in the company of others. Not to mention he was the best friend to his deceased brother.

"Sesshomaru, it's about…Inuyasha."

No matter how long Kouga had been in Sesshomaru's company, he would never get used to his scrutinizing gaze. How one person could make you shit your pants with just the look in their eyes, Kouga would never know. When he stated his business Sesshomaru did not flinch whatsoever.

"What about him?" he asked in a bored tone. Kouga inhaled deeply and exhaled, making sure not to prolong the lord's time.

"Sir, Sesshomaru, eh…I've been reviewing the strategies and skills of other T-corp facilities in Asia in this pursuit of Naraku Onigumo, and something seemed odd to me. Other facilities have no direct reports of their agents taking down any assailants of Naraku's of any kind, yet somehow they are getting taken out. Sure, the facilities are busy with other cases, but not this one. Every rogue demon or human taken in sport the same injuries; five shallow claw marks across the chest diagonally. I've always thought about it but it always seemed impossible. Inuyasha was the only one I've ever known to use such strategies, and since no other facilities have direct ties to this mission…"

"You are suggesting my brother is alive, are you not?"

The interruption was acutely sudden, making Kouga's heart speed up. He couldn't show his nervousness now or Sesshomaru might not ever take him seriously.

"Take it into consideration. We never actually saw a body; just you. But maybe there was some kind of mix up between him and Bankotsu…"

"Are you doubting my familiarity to identify my own brother's dead body, Kouga?"

Once again, so sudden.

"N-no sir. It's just strange. Maybe if I could talk to the other facilities…"

"That is quite enough."

His tone sounded more stern than impassive, and Kouga knew he wasn't getting any farther than where he was now. But this was Inuyasha they were talking about. If there was even the smallest chance he was alive, shouldn't they follow that lead? Certainly Sesshomaru would be happy to have his brother back.

"Sesshomaru, the casket was closed" Kouga spoke lowly.

"The body was burned. Marred to be exact. Not suitable for display." Sesshomaru nearly spat the word display out, and Kouga knew he was touching too many nerves, but he didn't want to back down. That determination lit in his eyes, and Sesshomaru knew it all too well.

"The look of a man in desperation" Sesshomaru stated matter-of-factly. Before Kouga could express his confusion, Sesshomaru continued.

"My father always told me that anything less than perfection was unacceptable. Perfection is defined as the state of flawlessness. That quote came from Inu no Taisho himself, yet he was killed in a state of weakness caused by sentimentality. Sentimentality is such an unnecessary quality in this field of work, and we cannot afford to be anything less than perfect. The moment we let our guard down is the moment Taisho corporation falls. I am not my father, and I will not fall. Inuyasha is dead. Reflection is necessary for those who cannot move on. Kouga, I advise you _move on_."

His words were strung together, and unless you knew what kind of demon Sesshomaru was then you wouldn't understand the meaning of his words. Kouga absorbed everything he just heard and clenched his jaw in irritation and defeat. Standing up to dismiss himself as Sesshomaru casually logged onto his desktop to work, Kouga walked towards the exit. Before he could open the door to leave, he turned to speak over his shoulder.

"You know, my father always told me that the only thing you could be happy about in the very last days of your life was the people that you had grown to love. If you're trying to say that Inuyasha died because he was less than perfect or a less than perfect fighter, then you must not have respected him at all. If there is one thing you implement above everything else, that is respect. Yet you won't practice what you preach, not even for your own brother. Not my take on perfection, Sesshomaru. And I'll reflect if I want to."

Kouga was sure he'd either be getting fired our suspended without pay for his speech to his superior, but he wouldn't hold his tongue. But it was okay to agree to disagree, right? Surely Sesshomaru would realize that with his _perfect_ mind. Kouga thought on these things as he left the office and headed to the elevator to leave the top floor. When he was in the elevator, Kouga realized that in the midst of all that talk Sesshomaru managed to avoid answering his inquiries yet again!

"Damn it all!" he spoke out loud in his angry, gruff voice. When the elevator pinged to alert his arrival to the first floor he walked out in a huff. He probably needed to go to the gym to blow of some steam. Getting in his black mustang he pulled off in the direction of his apartment so he could change into some workout clothes. Maybe Sesshomaru was right. Maybe his reflection was the sign of a man that could not move on. Kouga had moved on, but was he not allowed to feel grief for the best friend that had died so unjustly. And another thing! Why was Sesshomaru not more pressed to finding Naraku now more than ever? This situation should have been taken care of. The loss of a loved one should have lit a fire under his cold ass, yet here they were three years later, only slightly closer to the end than three years ago. Somehow, somewhere, work was getting done. But it's like no one, no records could tell him who had done it. There were so many loopholes in Inuyasha's death that Kouga could not feel settled. Until something was completely over and done with, he couldn't feel content. Call it a flaw, but that's how he is. Inuyasha would always tell him he worried too much.

"Maybe I do" Kouga said lowly with a smirk. He should probably be paying more attention to traffic, but he had good senses. It dawned on him that he needed to visit Kagome too. This was that dreaded week. He was sure his other best friend would fake her happiness for the sake of everyone leaving her alone to cry. It happened every year. He, Ayame, Sango, and Miroku would all go out for lunch or some kind of activity to let her know that she was not alone in all this, so she shouldn't have to be alone on that day. He knew Sango and Miroku bought the fake façade, at least halfway. But two wolf demon descendants with great senses could pick up on the misery right away. It poked at his heart to still see her suffer so much. It reminded him of her scent when he told her the terrible news. It was her usual jasmine tea smell, but that time it was doused in anger and sadness. It made his nose burn.

And his instincts were never to be ignored either. His gut was hardly ever wrong. To be honest, Kouga couldn't recall a time where his gut was wrong. He just felt _something_; whatever it was gave him some kind of hope. There had to be more to this Naraku hanyou than what was known. There had to be some motive behind his actions to take out T-corp. Had there been bad blood between he and elder Taisho? At that question, Kouga immediately made an illegal u-turn and headed towards the interstate. If there was any person left on this planet with knowledge about Taisho corporation's past, it was sure to be Totosai!

**Author's Note: Sorry this took so long guys. Blame it on the school work. Thank you to everyone supporting this. I hope this story gains more popularity as we go on because I'm confident in this plot. **

**Review Please!**


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